I recently received an email from my daughter about EV's and thought I would respond to it here.
Thanks for the article. I too have considered this as an option for my 914, but decided against it for the same reason - lead acid batteries and their lack of efficiency. I was researching electric vehicles back in the early eighties when I was working for Sandia Nat'l Labs and came to the same conclusion then. Much hasn't changed in those 20 years except that other avenues have been introduced (lithium & nickel-metal-hydride), but they still remain out of reach for the average person seeking to do a conversion. Also, the electronic controllers needed to manage the discharge and recharge cycles, electrical distribution, etc, are also costly ($4000-5000 and up).
The other question I asked back then and still have not had answered to my satisfaction is this: What is the environmental and cultural impact of shifting all the energy use from individual internal combustion engines to a central electric generation facility? As demands for oil go down with the increase in demands for electricity we will find ourselves tied completely to local utility providers - some of whom are already struggling to meet demand. There's an old saying I learned in High School science class that has proven to be true - You cannot do just one thing!
Thoughts?
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2 comments:
When it comes to energy (for any application), there is no one clear solution. Think of it like your personal retirement plan. Would you put all your hard-earned money into one stock/fund? Never! The same is true for energy...and that's why I think we're in the dilemma we're in. We've put all our stock in oil, natural gas, and coal. All of which are limited resources and ultimately do harm to the environment. Ideally, we would want a far more diversified and sustainable energy resource "portfolio". No single source of energy is without its drawbacks, so why not use multiple sources to offset one source's weakness with the strengths of another? I think this is also true for fuels to power vehicles. ALL cars should be hybrids (and not just in terms of coupling gasoline with battery power), and they should have a wide variety of hybrid systems. That's my $0.02 worth.
I can see the logic behind your approach - "all cars should be hybrids" - since that does spread the energy demands across multiple sources. It also would allow for local adjustments based on resource availability and geographical conditions.
And in time perhaps all the kids (energy suppliers) can come together and play nice by providing Multiple Resource Fueling Stations.
Perhaps that day is not that far off.
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